MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Aug. 9, 2013) - MDN Inc. (News - Market indicators) ("MDN") is pleased to announce its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30st, 2013. The interim financial report and management discussion and analysis will be posted on Monday August 12th, on the Company's website (www.mdn-mines.com) and on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
A net loss of $ 405,299 or $ 0.004 per share was recorded for the three month period ended June 30, 2013, compared to a net loss of $ 583,820 or $ 0.006$ per share for the same period in 2012. The variation is mainly due to the decrease of the administration expenses partly offset by the 2012 Tulawaka mine royalties. As of June 30, 2013, the Company had cash assets of $ 2,7 million.
Summary of operating results
| For the three months period ended June 30 |
|
2013 |
|
|
2012 |
|
| (In thousands of dollars, except for amounts per share) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total revenues net of financial charges |
$ |
1 |
|
$ |
363 |
|
| Administrative expenses |
$ |
354 |
|
$ |
8144 |
|
| Management fees related to the Tulawaka mine |
$ |
71 |
|
$ |
167 |
|
| Net loss attributable to the shareholders of the company |
$ |
(405 |
) |
$ |
(584 |
) |
| Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ |
(0.004 |
) |
$ |
(0.006 |
) |
| Number of shares outstanding (in thousands) |
|
101,527 |
|
|
101,527 |
|
Tulawaka Mine
At Tulawaka, the focus was on the commencement of the closure process. As a result of the continued clean-up of the site and the process plant, 1,294 ounces were produced in the quarter. All mining and milling activities have now ceased.
Following the end of mining operations in Q1 2013 ABG has continued to progress the clean-up of the mine site ahead of formal commencement of closure activities. During the quarter, the stripping of all underground equipment from the mine was completed, the pit clearing progressed, and the decommissioning of the process plant commenced and the levelling of the run of mining pad is completed.
The Mine Closure Plan has been submitted to the relevant government departments and remains in discussions with the Tanzanian government, with regards to the ultimate end use of the mine site.
Exploration in Tanzania
In the second quarter of 2013, the Company carried out mapping field work on its Ikungu East and Nikonga projects and continued to seek financial partners for Ikungu.
Ikungu: one of the most advanced gold projects in Tanzania
MDN is in discussions with various groups who could be interested in accelerating exploration on the Ikungu project. These groups are currently assessing the project data and results.
Ikungu is an advanced exploration project with a large gold-bearing zone and excellent growth potential. It is one of the most advanced projects in Tanzania and one of the few not owned by a major gold producer. Furthermore, many of the gold intersections sampled returned an average grade of over 6 g/t Au, an advantage in a context of falling gold prices, where projects with higher gold values have an edge.
Ikungu East: Volcanic belt discovered in 2012
The work now underway follows up on prospecting done last year, and is aimed at locating drill targets of similar quality to those at Ikungu by the fourth quarter of 2013. The current program consists of work such as mapping, geophysical surveying and soil sampling.
Ikungu East shows synergies with the Ikungu drill results. Wholly-owned by MDN, this property covers a 133-km2 area adjacent to the Ikungu project and the eastern extension of the volcanic belt hosting the Ikungu gold zone.
Nikonga: Discovered by drilling in 2012
MDN's application for a prospecting license to the west of the discovery was approved in 2012, opening up more than seven kilometres to the west of the gold-bearing structure to exploration. In the first three quarters of 2013, MDN is doing the basic work required to identify drill targets on the western extension. The goal is to identify drill targets large enough to potentially represent a gold deposit. This work will also provide additional data to enhance the understanding of the geological setting. Results to date suggest similarities with the Timmins camp, one of the most prolific gold mining camps in Canada.
Crevier project development
The second quarter was devoted to meeting various finance companies. The Company signed confidentiality agreements with various potential partners, who were given technical information and are now assessing the project.
MDN has fulfilled all the obligations required to earn its 72.5% interest in the Crevier project. Following the decision to carry out additional studies, the completion of the feasibility study has been postponed. During this period, the Company will assess the merits of amending the base scenario of the 2010 preliminary economic assessment so as to optimize the already-positive economic parameters. In the future, the Crevier project development will be assured by new financement.
We remain convinced that the Crevier project is one of the niobium-tantalum projects with the best chance of going into production in the next few years. The Crevier project could also become one of the few sources of tantalum located in a stable region.
The higher tantalum demand and prices seen in the past two years are positive factors for the Crevier project. Since the completion of the preliminary economic assessment in 2010, tantalum has risen in price from US $150 per kg to over US $300 per kg.
Marc Boisvert, geological engineer, Vice President, Exploration, and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101 has reviewed the technical and scientific information in this news release.
About MDN
MDN Inc. (News - Market indicators) is a mining exploration and development company with projects in Quebec and Tanzania. The Tulawaka gold mine is an agreement between MDN (30% participating interest) and Pangea Goldfiels inc. (70%), a subsidiary wholly owned by ABG, whom manages projects through its subsidiary Pangea Minerals Ltd. All information concerning Tulwaka is based on the information provided by ABG. MDN Inc. also owns a 72.5% interest in Crevier Minerals Inc., which possesses a compliant to Canadian standard, NI 43-101 niobium-tantalum resource in the Lac-Saint-Jean area of Quebec.
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Forward-Looking Statements Other than statements of historical fact, all statements in this release that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, including, but not limited to, investment by Metalinvest of the amounts required in exploration expenditures to acquire an interest in the Ikungu property, including the $3,000,000 planned for 2013. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements are discussed in greater detail in the Company's most recent Annual Information Form filed on SEDAR, which also provides additional general assumptions in connection with these statements. Investors and others who base themselves on the Company's forward-looking statements should carefully consider the factors mentioned in the Annual Information Form as well as the uncertainties they represent and the risk they entail. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct, and as such, the forward-looking statements in this press release should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date of this press release
